BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[reiders]](/editions/1998/12/06/reiders_180x135.jpg)
The Reider family includes three singer-guitarists: Rob III, 25; father Rob, and Katie, 20.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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This time of year we give a lot of thought to family traditions: Grandma's stuffing, that special Christmas ornament, the menorah from the old country.
For some Tristate families, those traditions include guitars, saxophones and pianos, musical talent passed from generation to generation.
"I think there is some sort of genetic link-up there, maybe there is evolution within the species," says singer - guitarist Rob Reider, father of singer - guitarist Katie Reider.
The 20-year-old, Ohio State sophomore will release her debut CD on Dec. 18. Her older brother Rob III, 25, is also a performing singer - guitarist who recently moved back to the Tristate from Oregon. In the '70s, their dad (who was first inspired by his mother, also a professional singer) was one of the most familiar faces on the local music scene, due to daily appearances on The Bob Braun Show.
On the national level, we've gotten used to kids with famous musical names going into the family business.
In rock and pop, the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan leads a pack that includes Steve Stills' son Chris, Pete Townshend's
daughter Emma, Leonard Cohen's son Adam and the late Tim Buckley's late son Jeff, who followed too closely in his self-destructive father's footsteps. A few years back there was Wilson-Phillips, the trio made of Brian Wilson's two daughters and John and Michelle Phillips' daughter.
In jazz, there's the Marsalis family and tenor sax players Joshua Redman (son of Dewey Redman) and Ravi Coltrane (son of John Coltrane).
In Nashville, it's an old story, thanks to such second-generation country stars as Rosanne Cash, Carlene Carter, Lorrie Morgan, Marty Haggard and Hank Williams Jr. (and most recently, Hank Jr.'s son Hank III).
Locally, it's a more recent phenomenon. But some of today's foremost area musicians are offspring of yesterday's foremost area musicians.
William "Bootsy" Collins got his start as a teen-age bassist with James Brown. His son, William Johnson, 23, is following in his father's funky footsteps as a singer - rapper - producer under the professional name Oui-Wey (pronounced Ooh-Whee!).
Quinn Bolton is lead singer with the Websters, one of the top rock - pop bands on the local club circuit. His dad, Pete, is a former member of the Casinos, the Cincinnati singing group that had a 1967 Top 10 hit with "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye."
Quinn's the second second-generation Bolton to make a name for himself locally. His older brother, Derrick, was in the '80s metal band Jonas Grumby. Oval Opus is another local group with a Casinos connection. The young four-man band features brothers Josh and Dan Edmondson. In the '60s, their father, Carl, worked with the Casinos as a producer at Fraternity Records, the Cincinnati-based independent label. The elder Mr. Edmondson also has worked with Lonnie Mack, the group Two of Clubs and, most recently, with his own band, Driving Winds. Some musical offspring have taken up instruments --
and styles -- far removed from their parents.
Sean McGary is lead singer in the Cammy-winning rock band Marsha Brady. His late father, Jimmy, was a local jazz giant, the premier tenor saxman in town.
Ben Doepke is a singer - keyboardist with the local rock group Homunculus. His mother, Rochelle "Chellie" Doepke, is celebrating 30 years as a flutist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Second-generation Miracle
John Miracle has filled the demanding drum chair with the funk band SHAG. He left in 1996 and is now a member of the city's hottest cover band, the 13-piece Soul Pocket. His father, the late John Miracle, made his name in bluegrass, a style in which drums are anathema.
"He was always supportive about music," the younger Mr. Miracle recalls. "He always wanted me to play music, but it was a situation where he was like, 'Always make sure you have something to fall back on. Get your education first'. Once I was out of college he was even more supportive. He came to see SHAG a few months before he died (in 1995). He thought it was great."
His father's only son, John, grew up going to festivals and seeing his dad play at Aunt Maudie's (now Local 1207) on Main Street.
He learned early how tough the music business could be, how hard it was to make a living even when club owners paid what they had promised. But the musicians and fans were a sort of family, and music was always there, just a thing people naturally did.
"Growing up, there was always music around the house, country or bluegrass. As a kid, I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now," says Mr. Miracle, who recently has become a fan of such alt-country acts as Steve Earle and Son Volt.
He followed his father's advice. Today, Mr. Miracle uses his degree in elementary education as a teacher, integrating language and arts in Mason.
Four Beatle-like boys
The area's youngest band is also a second-generation group. The Beatle cover band Backbeat features brothers Zack, 9; Jake, 11; and Steve Snyder, 12; and Patrick Helwig, 14.
The Snyder dad, Steve, used to play with the local band Story, a popular group of the '70s. Patrick's father, Steve Helwig, was a member of Haymarket Riot, a hot area act from the late '60s to 1980.
Of the four Helwig kids, only Patrick has any interest in music, Steve Helwig says.
"I was just talking to Patrick about Haymarket Riot, and he started getting interested in the band, and one day he told me he wanted to play the drums (Steve's original instrument in Haymarket Riot)."
Patrick taught himself to play with CDs by the Beatles, which remains his favorite band. Then the two fathers met at a music industry Christmas party. It turned out the three Snyder boys were equally Beatles-obsessed, and they happened to be looking for a drummer. Backbeat was born. a year ago this month, and now the group is scheduled to appear on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Mr. Helwig, a regional marketing and sales representative for BMG Records, would like to see the band expand to other '60s oldies and eventually write its own material.
The fathers see their time in bands as groundwork for their sons. "We've been through it, and we didn't know what we were doing when we were doing it," Mr. Helwig explains. "But now we can use our experience to help them."
Father-son act
W.A. Williams and his son Kasey, 16, are one of the few father-son performing teams in local music. As the Rev. Billy Rose, Mr. Williams sings "I Play Dirty" on the recent Shades of Blue local blues compilation, backed by Kasey's funky, driving bass. The pair also performed at the "Shades of Blue" concert at Music Hall Ballroom. They have since recorded a couple of tracks for a fan club-only Stevie Ray
Vaughan tribute.
Best known as a concert photographer (the famous, back-to-the-camera Stevie Ray picture is his), Mr. Williams has been taking Kasey to shows for more than 10 years.
He remembers Kasey at 6, meeting Lonnie Mack and telling him, "You know, Lonnie, I play guitar too, but my hands just don't work right yet."
With tutoring from his father in Motown and Stax bass lines, followed by lessons with such top local players as Mark Hoffman and, most recently, C.C. Thomas, Kasey's hands now work fine.
"I decided early on I was gonna let Kasey make decisions on his own. I've been accused of trying to live my life through him. But these have been his choices. The opportunities have always been there (for him). They weren't there for me as a kid. If I had a bass, I didn't have an amp. If I had an amp, I didn't have a bass."
"He told me how hard things were for him," Kasey says. "It's great having my dad there. He knows what it's like."
Good life at 18
At 18, William Menefield is an old pro, with a roomful of awards, a reputation as one of the city's top young jazz pianists and a debut album due in April on locally based J Curve Records.
He credits his parents, Cindy and Bruce Menefield, as his greatest inspirations.
"I can't remember a time when there wasn't always music in the house," the Evanston teen says. "My dad would have rehearsals here and I would sit around and listen."
Saxophonist Bruce Menefield is a familiar face in local jazz, leading his trio and quartet at such local spots as Kaldi's. William's older brother, Bruce II, and younger sister, Ebony, are also musically inclined.
But William, a part-time student in music theory and composition at UC's College-Conservatory of Music, is the most musically active member of the family.
"It's just what I love doing," he says. "I've had a number
of other jobs and I didn't like them."
Even though jazz doesn't pay as well as rock, it beats the other opportunities available to a teen-ager. "For an 18-year-old, I do pretty good," he says.
His father agrees.
"William's doing a lot of the things that I would have liked to have done at 18 that weren't available to me," the elder Menefield says. "I'm glad they're available to him. Some of the things that I attempted to do, they were just so hard to break into. It helps a little bit if somebody's been there. They can shorten some of the steps."
Dad's face glowing
Rob Reider has helped shorten some steps for his two eldest kids, Katie and Rob III.
For Katie, it all started, "with us just singing by the fireplace here at home."
She learned to play guitar from her dad, with some help from Rob III, who plays on her CD. Katie gained experience in musical activities at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. After high school she joined a youth mission, traveling to Nepal and India. Her experiences there ignited her songwriting.
Her father's steadying influence has been a huge help in trying to build a music career, she says.
"l'm not gonna cross any bridge before I get there, try to remain like a normal person and not get a big head. He's been through a lot of this so it's good advice."
Her father, whose primary musical outlet nowadays is performing at Vineyard Community Church in Springdale, couldn't be happier about his musical kids.
"It's a major-act blessing for me," he unabashedly gushes. "I really did not push either of them. I think it was just around them all the time. Just had guitars all over the place and music always playing. It permeated the house."
Best of all, he adds, "They like me to play with them."
Her father's pride at seeing her make music is part of why Ms. Reider enjoys performing.
"He gets this look upon his face," she says with a laugh. "The other night at the Vineyard I sang a song, and my dad's face was just glowing. When I perform I get more comments on my dad's face than anything."
Family bonded by music
That glow is shared by other musical families. For them, music has become a special bond, a connection between past, present and future generations.
"One of my dreams, and I used to say this to the guys in my band, was to have my grandkids experience jazz. I wanted to pass it down," Bruce Menefield says. "And when I said that, I didn't think it was going to be my own son doing it.
"That's the most gratifying part to me, that jazz is going to be in the next generation. The music is going to live on, and William's going to be a part of it."
![[reiders]](/editions/1998/12/06/reiders_550x411.jpg)